Category Archives: Entertainment

Losing Control To Lifestyle Inflation

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Today, my wife and I sent the kids to a friends house for a sleep over, while we went to a fancy italian winery/villa style restaurant.  For just the 2 of us, the experience cost $120.00 dollars!

So what did we have to eat, you might be wondering?  My meal consisted of antipasta salad, sea scallops and red wine (Tuscano).  My wife’s meal consisted of steak, antipasta salad, rose wine and a small piece of cake.

Travel back in time 10 years ago, and I would have never paid for such a meal.  It would be way to expensive for me back then.  Even today, I can’t afford to have meals like this often!  Believe it or not, this is the most I’ve spent on a meal for the both of us.

So you might be thinking it’s a special occassion, but it really wasn’t.  It was just a new restaurant that we decided to try out.  We could have ordered the much cheaper pizza, but we wanted to see if this restaurant was as good as we heard it was.  So we ordered more expensive meals (but not the most expensive)!   The next time we go, we’re going for the pizza!!!

This is called Lifestyle Inflation, and it’s basically where we increase our upper range of spending whereas before we would never conceive of spending so much for such a temporary thing as a meal!

Maybe it is just a one time splurge, but maybe not!  I definitely need to get a better grip around my spending or else I’ll doom myself to never have any wealth someday!

-MR

My Favorite Tip For Enjoying Entertainment

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I hate waiting in long public lines!  Too much time in life is wasted waiting in long lines to enjoy things!

So do I stay at home squirrelled away in my own personal “fortress of solitude“?  Destined and doomed to live out my days as an impatient hermit?

Of course not! 

In fact, we just got back from our local public Drive-In.  We watched “The Last Air Bender” and the latest Shrek movie “Shrek Forever After“.  The kids enjoyed them (especially Shrek).  But what compelled me to go on a Thursday night (a work night) with the movies starting at 9:30pm?

Lack of people at the Drive in during that time!  There was only about 30 cars that night!  If we were to wait until this weekend, the number of cars could be double or triple the number!  So by going on a less popular day, it was like we owned the place. 

Here is a List of some of the Benefits of Excellent Scheduling

  • When arriving at the Drive-In, there was no wait to get in, we drove up, paid to get in, and drove straight in.
  • Once in, we got prime choices for spots to choose from.
  • We didn’t have to wait in long food lines
  • Bathroom break were quick without any lines.
  • People were more quiet since there wasn’t as many people.
  • The intermission play area for the kids wasn’t crowded and much safer.
  • Nobody was parked to either side of us, so we adjusted our car to get the best angle for viewing the screen.
  • Exiting was quick with no waiting in a line to get out.

By taking out the crowd factor, the experience was extra special!  It was almost like they were playing the movie just for us (or at least if almost felt that way).

The same is true of dining out earlier during the day (4:30), and on a day in the middle of the week instead of the weekend!  Not only is the service better, many places will offer a earlier bird pricing on a weekday to boot!

There is a huge gain if you go to an amusement park during a week day instead of the typical weekend.  Line rides are much quicker!

Next I plan on trying the same technique with wave running!  We use to go on the weekends when it was super crowded in the lake and less safe.  But now since I sometimes work early, I’m going to try going during the middle of the week on a day that I get out earlier than usual.  Hopefully, my experience will be the same as with the rest of the activities I mentioned above.

Can you think of an activity that is more enjoyable by staggering the time and day, so that the crowds are at a minimum?

-MR

The Shawshank Redemption, Lessons Learned

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The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies, and since it’s the #1 movie on IMDB.COM, I guess others feel the same way!

Okay, if you haven’t seen “The Shawshank Redemption” or if you haven’t read “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” stop here and do yourself a favor and watch the movie (or listen to the audio-book), because the rest of this post could potentially be a spoiler!

The Shawshank Redemption is about Andy Dufresne who was wrongfully incarcerated for a crime that he didn’t commit.  The movie (and book), shows the hardships that he overcame when we was in prison and his triumphs.  The movie is a huge Lemons to Lemonade kind of message, and then some!

I think what makes the movie so fascinating is that fact that Andy never gets broken.  And even though his life looks bleak at the best, he still accomplishes positive things!  Some of the things he accomplishes in the movie is a vast improvement and expansion of the prison library, the High School Equivalency Program (HSEP) program implementation for prisoners, beer on for the roofing crew, and the playing of music for the entire facility once.

A turning point in the movie is when a new transferred prisoner has evidence that could enable Andy to have another trial and clear is name.  The warden ends up killing the transferred prisoner.  This is when Andy is almost broken, but instead he takes this negative and converts it to a positive by escaping through a tunnel he’s been digging out for years.

Personally, I took away from the movie to never give up.  And the same message should be applied to life and finances.  Make the best of things no matter what you are doing!  Some of us only live for the weekend, and that’s a big waste of time and life!  Make everyday count, be creative!

This is one of the reasons I started blogging!  This is a great outlet for me and I get to tell my journey and share my thoughts.

As the character, Andy Dufresne in the movie says: “Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

If you watched it, what did you get out of it or why is it one of your favorites?

-MR

Update:

  • Interestingly in the book by Stephen King, Red really was Irish!
  • Andy had more options because he communicated and socialized with others!
  • Fictional Shawshank was filmed at a prison in Mansfield Ohio.

Frugally Free Fishing For Kids… With Rubber Gloves

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It’s funny, just these past few years, I’ve found out that fishing is free for kids under 16 in my state!  So that means I can take both of my kids fishing without paying for a fishing license ($16 per year per adult).

So last year, I took my son and daughter fishing, and to my surprise, they had a blast.  My son had a ball casting over and over again.  And I got to teach my daughter the ropes.  Of course, I was constantly nervous of getting hooked or them getting hooked, but it worked out okay.  It was nice just hanging out with them.

My son caught a few small bluegill.  My daughter had some bites but didn’t give the fishing pole that little jerk that hooks the fish, perhaps this year she’ll do better.

When I was a kid, my older uncles gave me grief about baiting the worm on the hook and after catching a fish, taking the fish off of the hook.  I did it, but didn’t like it!!!  Now, it’s 2nd nature to me, but my kids are in the same circumstance I was in as a kid.

So what trick do I use to make it more pleasant so that my kids want to go fishing?

I decided to buy some rubber gloves to make it easier on my kids.  My daughter’s still not to crazy about the process, but my son took to the gloves like a fish in water (sorry, corny joke).

The beauty of using the gloves is if you get them wet first, it’s better for the fish because when you use your hands, you take some of the protective oil off of the body of the fish.  So it’s a win-win! My son enjoys using the gloves so the bony fins don’t jab him, and we help keep the fish healthy at the same time (if we release it)!

Oh, I do want to share one little tip!  If you just want the kids to fish for smaller fish, try small cut up pieces of hot dogs!  They worked better than worms when we were in Disney World last year.

Do you use any special tricks to make an activity a little more enjoyable?  If you do, what is the activity and what’s your trick?

-MR